Saturday, April 9, 2011

CAN BENGAL CHANGE?

Can Bengal Change?How the Trinamool can show it’s differentThere will be some sighs as the Trinamool and Congress parties finallyseal their seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Bengal elections, the alliessighing in relief, the incumbent CPM in resignation at the challenge posed.With the Congress settling for 65 of 294 seats, some aspects of realpolitikcome to light. Aware of the crest Mamata Banerjee is riding, the Congresshas made a wise decision to not squabble over numbers but give in to itsmore powerful regional partner. On its side, the Trinamool recognises theadvantages of the alliance, keeping the anti-Left vote together andretaining its link with the national-level party. Why the last is a plus isconnected to the Left’s history in Bengal.The CPM came to power in 1977, riding a tide of hope and achievingaccomplishments like Operation Barga, land transferred to sharecroppers,while maintaining communal harmony in a state that experienced horrificrioting at Partition. However, it also choked much of Bengal’s civil society,party politics dominating everything – whether college entrances, joballocations, law and order, the last a terror tactic used by partymusclemen snatching rights and resources. Bengal once held myriadbusinesses and manufacturing. Over the years, faced with regimentedbullying, these dried up. Meanwhile, the state’s performance in povertyreduction and education dipped, its fiscal debt rose, its professionalsmigrated and the desperation around land intensified. Recently attemptingto rejuvenate industry, the Left blotted its copybook severely. Its ‘official’goondas terrorised locals at sites like Nandigram, handing Mamata a moraladvantage.Currently, while her own precise vision for Bengal’s development is yet tofully emerge, Mamata’s electoral strategy has been astute. The Trinamoolfirst broke open the CPM’s rural bastion, performing well in panchayat, zilaand civic elections. It won over intellectuals, roped in software guruSabeer Bhatia to help its cyber campaign and announced FICCI secretarygeneralAmit Mitra’s candidature, sending encouraging signals to industry.In all this, its link with the Congress remains significant, for it sends amessage that Bengal’s days of isolation may be over. A governmentworking with the Centre, not constantly opposing it, could serve popularaspirations well. The implementation of poverty reduction strategies, suchas NREGA, could improve in an environment divested of patronage politicsand ideological wars. And being linked to a party often in centralgovernment, answerable to Parliament, could help reduce political violencein the state. It is through moves like these that Mamata can show that theTrinamool Congress isn’t just about realpolitik but also about real change,providing the break that Bengal longs for.